City Councillor Calls For Public Notification of Periodic Detention Centres

Last night [Thursday 17 June] City Councillor Yani Johanson received support from the Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board to push for the Christchurch City Council to make periodic detention (PD) centres a publicly notifiable activity. Cr Johanson's motion was approved unanimously by the Board. The motion was a result of the ongoing concern by the local community over the Department of Correction's decision to locate a PD centre in Ensors Rd. The public were not notified and very little consultation occurred.

Over 100 people attended a public meeting on Tuesday. Irate resident's expressed their ongoing frustration and outrage at the way resource consent had been granted by the Council for the PD centre. The Community Board agreed to write to the Regulation and Planning Committee of the Council seeking the establishment of a rule under section 77d of the Resource Management Act that allows for certain activities to be publicly notified. This follows a similar attempt to strengthen the city plan provisions regarding PD centres which was ultimately rejected by the Council in 2002.

"It is vital that PD centres in Christchurch become a publicly notified activity as they clearly have a significant impact on the local community. Unfortunately Council took its eye of the ball in 2002 when it had the opportunity to introduce stricter city plan measures as a result of the Richmond PD centre fiasco. As a result the residents who live near to the proposed Ensors Road PD centre have been denied their fundamental right to have a say on its location," said Cr Johanson

"This is inherently wrong and needs to be remedied urgently. Ironically most of the recent changes to the RMA weakened public notification provisions but there is a new clause added that enables Councils to specify an activity that should be publicly notified."

"The Department of Corrections failed to consult the local community and have been utterly arrogant and deceptive in how they locate PD centres. If Corrections are not prepared to engage with the community when they are encouraged to do so then the only option left is the compulsion to publicly notify. Corrections have learnt nothing from the hurt and anger caused in the Richmond Community nearly fifteen years ago. As the local City Councillor I am not prepared to sit back and allow Corrections to further bully the local community. It is time that city plan rules were put in place to protect the community and for this reason I have asked the Community Board to request Council take urgent action," said Cr Johanson today [Thursday June 17)

Bob Todd, Chairperson of the Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board said the move to get PD Centres publicly notified has his full support. Mr Todd says that "recent history in Ensors Rd and in Richmond suggests that it vitally necessary for the Council to adopt stricter City Plan measures for PD Centres".

Resolution agreed to at the Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board Meeting - June 16

That the Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board write urgently to the Regulation and Planning Committee requesting that a rule specifying the establishment and/or expansion of a PD centre be a publicly notified activity in the district plan as per section 77D of the Resource Management Act.

Section 77D of the RMA (this was a new section added with the recent reforms)

Section 77D rules specifying activities for which consent applications must be notified or are precluded from being notified

A local authority may make a rule specifying the activities for which the consent authority—
(a) must give public notification of an application for a resource consent:....

ENDS

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